I'd never done anything political before, so it was way out of my comfort realm. But I got a phone call one day, when the Philadelphia Phillies were in the midst of the play-offs, trying to win a World Series. "Hey, would you like to jump on a bus and campaign for Obama?" I let a couple of days go by to have a think about it, and I realised: this is the election of a lifetime. History could be made, and how cool would it be to be a part of that? So I put my fears aside and took a chance. Next thing, I was in south Philadelphia, introducing Senator Biden and his wife at a rally.

When you first hear about him - a black man running for president - it catches the attention. But then you have to get outside of him just being black and ask: what can he bring to the table? He's a clean-cut man, very well-spoken, very educated, very intelligent. It's hard to explain, but some people just captivate you and that's what he does. Obama seems like the right guy.

He has a great passion for basketball, too, and although that isn't my sport, just to know he's athletic attracted many athletes to come out and be supportive. I know he smokes, but he can still get out there and shoot basketballs. He's young, he talks about sports... Even though he supports the White Sox, I forgive him.

As players, we spoke about politics, but never made a big deal about who we were backing. I think I had more conversations about it with front-office staff than with team-mates; what was most important to us at the time was trying to win the World Series. It's kind of kept under the table because you don't want a situation where the pitcher wants McCain and the catcher wants Obama.

This election makes the impossible possible. At school I pretty much knew my options: work for somebody else's business or become an athlete. Now, with him becoming president, the ceiling has been raised. Kids at school see Obama and think that maybe they can be something other than an athlete or a rapper - maybe they can do something that really matters, maybe they can run their own business.

It didn't strike me as strange to campaign for the guy who'll raise my taxes. I don't know if we can justify making the amount of money we make - how can you put a value on entertainment? - but if raising my taxes a little helps America become a better place, then I'm all for it. You have to build from the bottom.

Obama's presidency will dictate whether I campaign again in 2012. But if during his first four years in office he gets America going back in the right direction, I'll be out there.